Every story must come to an end, including Kathy's. While it may not always be the ending we desire or want to hear, it is the ending. This particular ending has brought us many emotions including heartbreak, grief, acceptance, happiness, and hope, but most important of all, closure. We were given a rare gift. The gift of time. Time to spend with Kathy during her final days of life and have those important conversations about her wishes, but most importantly say goodbye.

Her last few days were spent unresponsive, but we know that she could hear us and feel our touch. We are surprised that it went so fast, especially when we were given a timeframe of 2 weeks. Her last fully conscious day was Thursday, December 29, when we laughed, cried, and sipped on several shots of Fireball with her. It was a great day. On Friday, she was too weak to talk and could barely open her eyes, but at one point I could tell she was trying to tell me something and I had to get very close to hear. She told me that she would not pass over the weekend and that it would be Tuesday, but then changed her mind and said Monday. Today I told her how important it is to always stick with that initial gut instinct, and that she would've been right about Tuesday. When you know, you know, and that's the last thing I heard her say. She took her last deep breath on Tuesday, January 3 at 10:35 am.

While our time with her at the end was quick, she has been calling the shots since her day one arrival at United, and this was also her shot to call. We are so thankful that she has cognitively been with us through this entire painful process - because her mind is what we loved most about her! We are so thankful that since making this decision last week that it went quickly. We are so happy that she is happy, free of pain and disability. It's what she's always wanted for herself. We love her so much.

For one last time, thank you for all for the prayers, love, and support while following along on Kathy's journey. This book is now closed, but the stories and memories of Kathy will remain open eternally in our hearts. ❤️ 

Love,

Dave, Sara, Jerad and Marion

**For those wondering about service arrangements, Kathy choose to have a private funeral and burial at a later date, but wanted one final final party - a celebration of her life - to be held on Saturday, January 7 at Clyde’s Corner Bar in Beldenville at 2:00 pm till the beer runs out.**